


No Honey

by shanachie



Series: Assassin Baby [35]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ariana and James, Entrapment, F/M, snarky is as snarky does
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 03:46:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14488131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanachie/pseuds/shanachie
Summary: Ariana is her mother’s daughter, but she doesn’t often do the same types of missions her mother did. Doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how.





	No Honey

**Author's Note:**

> **Author's Note:** So this was supposed to be one thing… but it kind of morphed into a whole ‘nother thing. And then after _Infinity War_ I needed some happy. I’ll be writing some more happy comfort fic over the next few days. Thanks so much to float_on_alright for all her help with this! Thanks also to chrismouse for her spur of the moment translation. [The dress Ariana is wearing.](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2016-Classic-Emerald-Green-Lace-Prom-Dresses-A-Line-Knee-Length-Formal-Gowns-Important-Party-Dress/32615585363.html?aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1525055122390&sk=yfAeyJa&aff_trace_key=6410a976f3ea43a390fdeab29c636119-1525055122390-02353-yfAeyJa&terminal_id=1b8e5c31296b464a8f913dd529096296)
> 
>  **Prompt:** Meghan Trainor’s “No”
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this.  
>  **Second Disclaimer** Despite being fanfiction, this is MY work and I do not give anyone or any other site permission to republish this story under my name or any other without my authorization.

_Twenty-One years After the Attempted Chitauri Invasion_

“I’m not late,” Ariana said, as she slid into her seat and her partner and lover, James Barnes, indicated his watch.

“You aren’t early either,” James replied.

“I beat… crap, what’s his name again?” Ariana waved it off. “Anyway, I beat him here.”

“Correction, Agent Barton, I’ve been here for two hours setting up your background.” The man that entered the room could rival her Uncle Coulson for blandness, but since he’d just been assigned to them Ariana wasn’t even exerting brain power on his name yet.

“We have a mission?” Ariana asked. “How are we going to be deployed?”

“Honey trap.”

Both Ariana and James froze at his words.

“I. Don’t. Do. Those. Missions.” Ariana’s words were icy and James grabbed for her before she could launch herself at the handler.

“This isn’t a standard honey trap,” the handler hastened to explain.

“Lowell,” James drawled. “Why are you even calling it a ‘honey trap’? You aren’t going to get Ariana to agree to it if you piss her off before you even explain what you want her to do.”

Ariana snapped her fingers. “Lowell. That’s your name.” James rolled his eyes in response.

“Yes, Agent Barton, that is correct,” Lowell answered. “Now about your mission.”

Ariana crossed her arms. “Shall we try to find a better way to refer to my mission?”

“You need to attract the attention of a mark,” Lowell responded. “How would you like to refer to it?”

Ariana exchanged glances with James. “Entrapment?” she suggested.

“Fine,” Lowell agreed. “You can call it that if you want to. If fact, as long as you capture him, you can call it whatever you want.”

“Who are we going after?” James changed the subject.

Lowell pressed a button, lighting up the holograms behind them, and the two field agents swung around to see the dossier that shimmered into the open space. “Meet Samir Khan. Thirty years old. Khan enjoys technology a little more than he should and has ties to Hammer Corp.”

“Unfortunately ties to Hammer Corp isn’t enough to make him a priority,” Ariana commented. “Although Tony might have a different opinion.”

“Thought he crushed Hammer Corp years ago?” James asked.

Ariana frowned. “Hammer is a cockroach. It keeps coming back. But why are we going acter Khan?”

“He has suspected ties to AIM and Hydra,” Lowell explained. “Your… entrapment will get him out of play and allow us to interrogate him.” He motioned to James. “Agent Barnes will act as Control.”

Ariana pushed back from the table. “We’ll get him.”

 

 

“Zip me up?” Ariana asked as James entered the room where she was changing.

James ran a finger up her bare back before slowing pulling the zipper into place. “I’d much rather be easing you out of this,” he commented as she adjusted the front of it. He peered over her shoulder to watch in the mirror as she made sure everything was in place.

She smiled, holding his gaze in the mirror. “Help me snag this bastard and you can absolutely unzip this and…” Her grin turned wicked.

“That’s quite the incentive,” he answered. His hands hadn’t strayed from the top of her dress, but his eyes traced the curves outlined by her dress and his look grew heated.

“I fully believe in rewarding good behavior,” she said. She noticed his gaze had turned from admiring to contemplative. “What?”

James ran his hands down her bare arms. “Just… the dress…”

Ariana looked down. “Is there something wrong with it? It seemed to fit all right. And I don’t really have anything appropriate for a _honey trap_ in my own clothes so I rifled through the SHIELD clothes.”

Slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against him, James showed her without words how not wrong the dress was. “It reminds me… of some of the dresses the girls wore… before.”

“Is that a bad thing? I’ve got other choices.” Ariana indicated the dresses draped across the desk and chairs nearby.

“No,” James told her. “No. It’s perfect.”

Ariana hugged his arms to her. “Do you have misgivings about this assignment?”

“I have _all_ the misgivings about this _assignment_ , but not about you or me or what we can do,” he answered. Pressing a kiss to the side of her head, he continued, “I’m only a comm call away if you need me for anything.”

Ariana nodded in response to his comment. “I’m glad you’re control if I’m going to be doing an entrapment.”

He tightened his grip for a moment. “I can’t say I’m happy about the whole idea of you in this situation, but at least I’m confident you can handle yourself. I love…” he cut himself off as Lowell entered the room. James glared at the handler. “Yes?” he asked when the handler gave him a cold look.

“Are you two ready to go?” Lowell asked, his frown deepening when they didn’t separate.

Ariana wiggled out of James’s grasp after a minute and picked up her shawl, smiling when James took it from her to drape it over her shoulders. “All set,” she said. She glared at Lowell’s back when he preceded them out of the room. “I dare you to say it when you made me wear this dress.” Ariana indicated the lacy dress that was not at all her style.

“I didn’t pick the op,” James reminded her. “And just get through the evening and we’ll attach much more pleasant memories to that dress,” James told her.

“It’s a deal, Control.”

 

 

Ariana flicked her finger across the phone, pretending to read and respond to a series of texts as she sipped at a drink. “Incoming, doll,” a voice whispered in her ear.

“I didn’t think our target had been sighted yet,” she answered under her breath.

“He hasn’t been sighted by the perimeter team, but you do have incoming,” the voice in her ear whispered.

“Wha…?” Ariana started to ask, but cut her question off as a slick looking blonde slipped onto the stool next to her.

He signaled to the bartender, pointing to Ariana. “I’ll take a Scotch and another of whatever she’s drinking.”

Ariana shook her head. “No thanks.”

“You’ve clearly been stood up. Allow me to buy you a drink to drown your sorrows in,” he answered.

She indicated the partially full glass in front of her. “I have a drink. And I’m not looking to drown my sorrows. Nor have I been stood up.”

He motioned to her drink and the phone that was still in her other hand. “You’re trolling your phone and nursing a drink by yourself.” Running his eyes up and down her body, he added, “And in a dress like that, you’re clearly waiting for someone.”

“Don’t hit him, doll,” the voice in her ear whispered. “And absolutely don’t kill him.”

Ariana lifted the glass to her lips to hide her smile before telling the man, “No.”

“No you aren’t waiting for someone? Or no you aren’t nursing the drink and trolling your phone?”

“Doll,” James warned as her hand crept towards her thigh. “No stabbing.”

Ariana clenched her fist where the blonde couldn’t see her. “No, I don’t want your drink or your company.”

“How about a dance then?”

“What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?” Ariana questioned. When the man pressed closer, she asked in an undertone, “Control?”

“You can’t cause a scene,” James replied.

“You take away all my fun,” Ariana subvocalized.

“I tend to _encourage_ your fun ninety percent of the time,” he corrected.

“That’s a beautiful bracelet,” the blond attempted another track, not realizing Ariana was talking to someone else.

Ariana stiffened at his comment wondering if she’d missed the signs that this guy was their mark. They knew the mark would be interested in tech, but while they also knew he was a letch, he was known for taking no for an answer. “Control?” she questioned again.

“Negative,” James answered, although sounds came over the transmitter of people scrambling to find information.

Ariana’s smile bared her teeth before she said loud enough for the man to hear, “Thank you, I’ll be sure to tell my uncle.”

“So it’s a family heirloom?” the man asked.

“For Pete’s Sake!” Ariana exclaimed, fed up with the man not listening. “No! No, it’s not an heirloom. It’s just a bracelet. No, I do not want a drink! No, I do not want to dance. No, I do not want to talk. I was on my phone because I do not want to talk to assholes like you, not because I was stood up. Now go away!”

From her earpiece came the sound of laughter, thankfully muffled by being shoved deep in her ear canal. “That’s one way to tell him,” James said.

“Not. Helping,” Ariana subvocalized.

The man glared at her. “You don’t have to be rude about it.” Picking up his glass, he slid off the stool and stalked away.

“Clearly you don’t understand anything other than rudeness,” Ariana muttered. She took a deep breath, then asked, “Control, did that mudak* scare off the mark?”

“Perimeter reports he’s just entering the building now. You should have contact soon,” James answered.

“Copy,” Ariana replied. She rolled her shoulders, straightening up on the stool. “SERA, level one activation.”

The bracelet beeped quietly in response before unfolding into a gauntlet.

“Contact in three… two… one… mark.” James counted down.

Ariana pasted a smile on her face as a swarthy man took a seat on the empty stool the blonde man had vacated. She flipped her phone face down and lifted her drink as if she was going to sip from it.

“Are you here alone?” the man asked once he’d settled into place. “A beautiful woman should never be left alone.”

Ariana glanced at him over the rim of her glass. “Who said I’m alone?”

“If you’re waiting for someone I’ll gladly leave you alone,” he replied.

“Maybe you’re the person I’m waiting for,” Ariana suggested with a slight smile. She toyed with her glass, setting it down, and running an idle finger along the top of it.

He indicated her bracelet. “And I suppose that’s supposed to draw me in? Something more than just your pretty face?”

“SERA,” Ariana subvocalized, “level two activation.” She turned her palm up as SERA acknowledged her command and flowed over her hand, a variation of a repulsor appearing on her palm.

The man’s eyes widened. “That is a pretty trick.”

“Not just a trick. It’s fully functioning. But of course I can’t show you… here.”

“We can’t just walk out of the… party,” the man suggested. “Especially without an introduction.”

Ariana held the hand not covered by SERA out. “Sarah Barnes.”

She could practically hear James roll his eyes as he said, “That’s the name you choose? You don’t think it’s obvious.”

“Samir Khan.” He lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “Now that we have introductions out of the way, perhaps we can discuss your wonderful toy a bit more.”

“So you only want me for my toys?” Ariana teased.

A crunching sound came over the comm, causing Ariana to tense, and Samir to look at her in concern. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Not at all,” Ariana assured him. 

Samir still looked concerned but he offered his arm to her, inviting her to slip off the stool and join him. “Walk with me?” he extended a verbal invitation.

“I’d be delighted.” Ariana accepted his help, using the arm to steady herself as she got to her feet. Scooping up her shawl, she held it in the hand not covered by SERA.

Samir rotated her arm gently, examining SERA. “This really is an ingenious device. How do you command it?”

“Maiden, don’t drop him yet,” James ordered, well aware that Ariana wouldn’t want the other man’s hands on her. “You’ll cause a scene.”

Ariana just prevented herself from pulling her hand out of his grasp. Against her skin, SERA warmed, clearly not appreciating his touch. “If we stroll towards the door, we can make our way out without causing a scene,” she suggested.

“I like the way you think, Ms. Barnes. May I help you with your shawl?”

“No, that’s fine.” She smoothed her skirt. “Everything is a distraction.”

“ _You_ are a distraction,” was James’s response. “And I think it’s working on our mark, but it’s not your physical assets he’s admiring. His pulse ticks every time he glances at SERA.”

“Good for us,” Ariana subvocalized. She smiled at Samir when he glanced at her. “Shall we?”

It took them a good twenty minutes to navigate the room and make it to the door they could exit by with Ariana guiding him to the door _she_ wanted him to exit by. 

As they stepped through the doorway, James spoke, “Drop him in three.. two... one... mark.”

As he hit mark, Ariana turned her hand over, firing a low level stun through SERA’s repulsor and into Samir. He slumped towards the ground and she attempted to catch him, calling, “Can I get a little help here?”

James and another agent hurried over, lifting Samir off her and holding him between him. “What happened, Miss?” James asked.

“I... I don’t know,” Ariana stuttered. “He wanted to take a walk and we moved out here and he just collapsed. Oh, god, is he _dead_?!”

“Don’t oversell,” James warned in a low voice. “No, he seems to just be unconscious,” he said slightly louder.

He glanced around, but the few spectators that were outside seemed to be ignoring them. Once they saw that James and Agent Barrett had handled it, their attention had turned elsewhere. It was a blessing of the rich, who preferred to not have their scandals recorded. “Let’s get him some help.”

Ariana batted her eyes at him. “Thank you so much for helping.”

Although James could have lifted the man by himself, the two men carried him together towards the SUV they’d gotten for this purpose. After putting Samir in the backseat, James helped Ariana into the passenger seat. Barrett climbed into the back and began tying Samir up while James took the wheel and pulled away. “Team Two, we’re clear,” he said as they pulled through the perimeter.

Ariana took a deep breath as she realized they had successfully made it out with the mark. “SERA, stand down,” she ordered before turning to James. “I want the longest, hottest shower. I feel slimy.”

“The shower and then…” James paused. “What we discussed?”

Ariana glanced over her shoulder to see the still unconscious mark. “But first I want a crack at him. No one gets to drool over my tech without me getting to take a strip out of his hide,” Ariana commented.

“Anyone who says the Maiden isn’t as scary as the Widow has never seen you in the field,” Barrett commented.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” James growled. “She’ll get him to talk.”

“Just give me some time alone with him.” Ariana settled back in her seat. “After I change.”

 

 

mudak*--pronounced moodak—asshole


End file.
